Wednesday, Septernber 20, 2000 — Nerth Shore Naws - 7 Shooting a wake-up Call THE brutal attempted execution of Journal de Montreal crime reporter Michel Auger fast week, has shocked a nation. Perhaps, just perhaps, the shooting has awakened this country from its slumber. Auger, shot five times in the back, will survive the cowardly attack. But this is much more than just an attack on a man. It is an attack on democracy. {tis an attack on the country “tself. And, it is incredibly stupid of arrogant, or quite possibly both. For many years there has been an unwritten rule in the world of organized crime. Cops and journalists who covered the crime beat, were off limits. The rule was only allowed to be broken if the target was compromised or corrupt. Essentially, this had a fot more to do with the pragma- tism of the elements of orga- nized crime rather than their sense of fair play. The “heat” which resulted from such a killing would be bad for business. It was a siniple enough formula. But that was then and this is now. Years of diminished police budgets, complacent courts *, and cooperative politicians have allowed organized crime to flourish in this country. The result of all this malfeasance lay on the ~- pavement of the parking lor _ of the Journal de Montreal In the wake of the Auger shooting, the Quebec Public ~. Security Minister, Serge Menard, called for the out- lawing of membership in organized crime gangs. Politicians of all stripes were quick to hop on the band- - wagon baying for an emer- gency debate in the House of Commons. © "There in Calgary, nod- ding like a dashboard puppy “was Justice Minister Anne McLellan as the prime minis- “2 ter shed crocodile tears for “© the ‘assembled media asking for his thoughts on the Auger outrage. Scandalous. Outrageous. What is the government going to do? ° Why they are going to study the situation. |. Whar, in the name of all things holy, is there to study? McLellan as Justice Minister has been little more than a waste of perfectly good opulent office space on Parliament Hill. She has “done nothing in the time she has held the office of the top ‘law enforcement officer in the country. Nothing. “. She should be bloody embarrassed to cash her tax- payer-funded pay cheque -every two weeks. °° Where is the much-tout- ed new Young Offenders Act? Where are the laws.to help police investigate orga- : nized crime? In fact, the "only thing she has accom- plished is to bring in money ~. laundering requirements * forcing the banks to report transactions over $10,000, something the Americans have had for almost 20 years “and other Western nations ‘have been screaming for this country to do for about as - long. Big deal... he seems that all McLellan can do is “study” issues: ’ McLellan ‘and the rest,of her government has been,toldes« ra re. oe ree ees Knight crime and punishinent tor years that Canada is los- ing the fight against orga- nized crime. It conimissioned a study by Price Waterhouse on the fiscal health of the RCMP in 1998. On Sepr. 30, 1999, the report was delivered to the government and it stated that years of Liberal budget cuts have left the force finan- cially crippled. Price Waterhouse recom- mended the Liberals imme- diately increase the force's budget by at least $564.1 million over four years so it would have a “minimally acceptable level of resources.” Note the word- ing. “Minimally acceptable level of resources” hardly means healthy. The report also specifically targeted organized crime saying, the budget cuts have put the RCMP’s ability to fight organized crime “in peril.” Last week RCMP veteran, Mike Niebudek, vice presi- dent of the Canadian Police Association, said, “We have weak laws, weak budgets, weak technology and tittle support. Our front-line offi- cers are extremely demoral- ized. On the other hand, organized criminals have bil- lions of doifars at their dis- posal and are literally bank- ing on the lack of enforce- ment resources to track their movements.” In Toronto in August, at the International Conference on Organized Crime, Antonio Nicasio, an expert on the subject and the author of nine books said, “Canada has always been a welcome wagon for orga- nized crime; a revolving door that lets everyone in repardless of their criminal past. “As other countries begin cracking down on organized crime figures, Canada is quickly becoming an easy mark for criminals.” McLellan must realize by now what the problem is. She cannot possibly suggest it requires more study. Nor do we need to get into the inane debate about outlaw- ing membership in a criminal gang. This is the stuff of knee-jerk reactionism and frustration. If the Hells Angels or any other group want to wear colours that denotes them as a single organization so what? That is not their crime. It is the activities by individual members of the organization, which consti- tutes the crime. te We already have conspira- cy laws sufficient to deal with the crime groups. We have tax laws which shoufd be used to go after their assets. If we need more leg- istationt, let it be similar in scope to the American RICO statute. What we do not have in this country is an attitude that encourages the prosecu- tion of the criminal ele- ments. The government cannot continue to cripple the police as they have done since they were first elected in 1993, The federal polic- ing budget is roughly the same as it was in 199]. Equally, the courts have to come to some sort of middle ground when they adjudicate constitutional arguments. For example, the Stinchcombe decision of the Supreme Court in 1992 has added over $4 million annu- ally to the operating expens- es of the RCMP just in pho- tocopying costs, For no practical purpose. And that’s just the RCMP. Add on every municipal police department, other federal, provincial and municipal enforcement agencies and the cost is probably over $100 million per year. The Auger shooting has brought the issue to the forefront. And, it’s about time. But, it is time for action, not study. — lknight@direet.ca 2001 Sentra festures: “© 126 HP, 1.81 engine : Tilt steering”. > é Second generation airba © 60/40 split fold-down bench seat. 2. i Bigs nT 38 i Ss I Oil, Lube & Filter 21 pt. Safety check, 15 minutes - FAST! Includes up to 5 litres of 10W30 Quakerstate i 1362 Marine Drive 980-9715 porse B00am-6:00pm, Sun. 9:00am-5:00pm Expires Oct 4/2000 § toy areny wi approved MaAcKENZIE FUJISAWA BREWER STEVENSON BARRISTERS AND SOLICITORS 1800 - 400 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC V6C 3A6 689-3281 i Patrick M. Holmes Michael D. 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